August, 2007
August 20, 2007
Water Source of Change
My life has not been the same since I met Mary Lieta. She is a Kenyan grandmother who came to Minnesota to tell about the reality of life in Kenya. Our Sister Rosita who serves in Kenya invited her to come and speak.
Mary spoke of the destruction caused by their polygamist culture. Many wives signal a man’s wealth. But, AIDS is rampant and the men die leaving HIV infected wives and many, many children. Eventually the young mothers die as well and the grandmother is left to figure out how to house and feed all the children. Today Kenyan society is missing the entire middle generation. All who are left are grandmothers and children.
Kenya provides free primary education, but the girl child is needed by the elderly grandmother to walk the long miles each day for water and to help care for all the children in the home. When the grandmother dies, the girls have no choice but to carry on. Many are not even 9 years old.
Most profoundly, Mary Lieta knows that the entire social structure of Kenyan women must change. She also knows that when one variable changes in the social construct, the entire construct on which their society is built will change as well. It is sobering and overwhelming, but the only way out.
Girls must be educated—beyond high school. They need education to stay alive. The current structure keeps them vulnerable to AIDS to name one reason. Girls must be able to attend grammar school. To attend grammar school, the grandmothers must have water nearby.
Water is a symbol of life for us. For Kenyans, it is not a symbol--it IS life.
Let’s get them water.
Possumus!
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August 15, 2007
Sisters from all over the world
It’s been nearly one month since Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet from all over the world gathered here in St. Paul, Minnesota for our Chapter meetings. A few blogs back you heard from Mary Treacy who reported what she saw happening from her vantage point while I attended the meetings. She did a great job. Finally, after two solid weeks of intense, unrelenting meetings followed by a little recovery time, I’m back in the saddle!
The goal of Chapter is to determine Congregational direction for the next six years. Given our global reality, the need for translators for our Japanese and Spanish speaking members, that decisions are determined by consensus, and that our final Acts of Chapter must speak to important issues in each Province, we did well!
Our diverse membership is a gift, not a handicap. It enables us to understand different world perspectives. Each Chapter member stretches her global view, becomes aware of assumptions and misinformation and opens to accepting different realities. It’s an example of why members of the United Nations often turn to women religious for information on the people in their own countries. Women religious are on the ground with the poorest of the poor; they listen to and serve the needs of the people as the people see them, not as the government sees them. It makes a difference.
At each Chapter several Sisters are pre-selected to listen to the conversation at the meetings and to capture the thinking of the body in writing. This writing evolves into the formal Acts of Chapter. To date, the final edited copy has yet to be published. However, in this blog I’ll give you a sense of our direction and at a later date will reproduce the actual Acts of Chapter.
The writers try to frame an introduction—sort of a backdrop—that hints to the Acts themselves. Then, in the finished document, the actual Acts of Chapter follow. In this blog I am only including a sense of the language in the Introduction.
Introduction:
-- In the heart of our God, there is a communion of all that exists, held together in relationships that constitute the web of life.
-- We taste that Communion, breathing in the hopes, yearnings, pains, and struggles of creation, each other, the Dear Neighbor, and the Church in a disconnected world.
-- We are filled with urgency to respond to the groaning of a dying planet.
-- In the rhythm of breathing in and breathing out God’s unifying love –our gift and our mission—we seek to participate in the Mystery of Transformation
I’ll be back when the final edits are in. The Acts of Chapter will be worth reading. Keep checking in.
Possumus!
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August 9, 2007
Holy Moments
I have just returned from Grand Forks, North Dakota, where I accompanied one of our 90-year-old sisters to a 50th high school class reunion. She was the Class of 1957’s beloved teacher; I was a fly on the wall. Here is what I learned from them:
1. What people say may be forgotten over time, but how they make you feel is always remembered.
Over the three days, each student came up to their teacher and thanked her for something she had said or done that changed the course of their lives. For many it was her taking the time to teach concepts in as many unique ways as was needed until each student understood. They spoke of the aha moments, but more importantly, they shared how their teacher made them feel smart, capable, and worthy.
2. Expressing gratitude is a gift to the giver as well as the receiver.
Some members of the class of ’57 waited 50 years to express deep gratitude to each other and to their teacher. It felt holy.
3. Reunions can be a life-oasis.
Classmates became refreshed and gathered strength from their story-telling, listening and laughing. They were ready to go forward into the next years knowing that this great body of support will await them at the oasis of their next reunion.
4. Don’t wait to say thank you.
Several of their classmates were already deceased. Many people had wonderful memories of these folks and would have told them so but it was too late.
Inspired by these holy moments, my advice is this: Don’t wait to wait until your own class or family reunion to let individuals know the difference they have made in your life. Let them know now.
Possumus!
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August 2, 2007
Prayer in Time of Tragedy
http://www.csjstpaul.org/content.asp?id=2981
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August 1, 2007
Here and Still Serving
Recently someone mentioned to me that blogging was not something he expected from a nun. I replied that people think nuns are archaic. But it’s not true. It’s society that is archaic. We are way out there, ahead of it all. Sisters of St. Joseph have been and continue to be leaders in society—ahead of the curve!
Society still solves problems with war. We’ve never been to war. Society appears to believe that some people count and others don’t—much like ancient feudal systems—kings and serfs—or those with and those without. Sisters of St. Joseph believe that everyone has value and voice. If there is an injustice, we invite the people with differing opinions and experiences to the table and problem solve until there is collaboration or consensus. Sure it takes longer but it lasts. If it’s right, it lasts because there is buy in.
Don’t ever underestimate who the women religious are in today’s world. I suggest that this very body be the council that the entire world looks to for wisdom in all matters.
We have existed for centuries. We are still here, still serving. Our lives are given for the good of the world.
Possumus!
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